API Gate Policy (Active)

Activated: 2026-02-23 Trigger: Remaining API budget at ~16%

Policy

  1. Default all work to local models.
  2. API usage is blocked unless explicit approval is provided in this format:
    • APPROVE API [task-id]
  3. Emergency API reserve:
    • 8% emergency reserve
    • 8% planned critical ops reserve
  4. Any non-critical task must run local-only.

Local Model Routing

  • Default: qwen2.5:14b
  • Code-heavy only: qwen2.5-coder:32b-instruct-q3_K_L
  • Rewrite/2nd pass: mistral-small3.2:24b-instruct-2506-q4_K_M

Critical API-eligible categories

  • Irreversible external communications requiring high-stakes polish
  • Compliance/legal wording where precision risk is material
  • Publish-critical blockers unresolved after one local retry

Enforcement Rule

If task is non-critical and asks for API model, deny and route to local with note: “API Gate Active”.